Double edge razor blade dispenser



g- 1966 P. A. BRAGINETZ ETAL 3,265,198

DOUBLE EDGE RAZOR BLADE DISPENSER Filed Jan. 29, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet l g- 1966 P. A. BRAGINETZ ETAL 3,

DOUBLE EDGE RAZOR BLADE DISPENSER Filed Jan. 29, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 9, 1966 P. A. BRAGINETZ ETAL 3,265,198

DOUBLE EDGE RAZOR BLADE DISPENSER Filed Jan. 29, 1965 I5 Sheets-Sneet 5 nited States Patent 3,265,1lfi8 DU UEELE EDGE RAZGR BLADE DISPENSER Paul A. Eraginetz and George A. La Cas, Staunton, Va, assignors to Philip Morris Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Virginia Fitted .Ian. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 428,992 24 @lairns. (Cl. 2fi6-l6) This invention relates to dispensers and refers more particularly to a dispenser for dispensing double edge razor blades.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a compact, simply constructed, convenient dispenser for dispensing double edge razor blades and which may be manufactured and assembled at low cost, but which functions accurately and dependably to dispense a single blade only at a time.

Another object is to provide a razor blade dispenserblade combination wherein an improved arrangement of indicia is provided to indicate to the user the directions in which the blades are to be dispensed from the dispenser. In the preferred form the arrangement is such that the markings on the blade are symmetrically shaped and positioned eliminating any need to select and orient specially the blades in the dispenser dependent upon the end of the dispenser from which a particular blade is ejected.

The dispenser embodies various other advantageous features in association with the general combination including an arrangement and means whereby the blades are supported and dispensed in a manner to preclude any damage to the finely sharpened cutting edges, and including the provision of a chamber for receiving and conveniently storing used blades.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the specific embodiments to be described hereinafter.

The dispenser in general includes an elongated hous ing having blade exit apertures at opposite ends and a central finger opening in the top, the bottom of the housing being removable to facilitate loading blades in the dispenser. A plate-like blade retainer is carried in the housing for supporting a stack of blades therein in longitudinal staggered relation and includes members for locating the inner or overlapping ends of the razor blades adjacent opposite ends of the finger opening. In this manner the user may insert a finger in the finger opening and slidably dispense the blades alternately through the exit apertures. The housing is also provided with guide members spaced inwardly of the exit apertures for guiding the blades to prevent transverse movement of the blades as they are dispensed thereby precluding the chance that the blade cutting edges may strike the housing and be dam aged. The housing is provided with directional indicia which cooperate with markings on the razor blades to indicate the direction in which the blades must be slid to be dispensed.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing by way of example, preferred embodiments of the inventive concept.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of the components comprising the razor blade dispenser of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the type of double edge razor blade used with the dispenser of the present invention showing markings which cooper-ate with directional indicia on the dispenser housing to indicate the direction the topmost blade is slid therein for dispensing;

Patented August 9, ltd-$6 FIGURE 2a is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing a modified form of the markings;

FIGURES 2b and 2c are perspective views of blades showing still other forms of blade markings;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the dispenser, the dispenser being loaded with a stack of blades arranged in longitudinally staggered relation;

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the dispenser taken along line IVIV in FIGURE 3, the scale being somewhat larger than that of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a transverse sectional view of the dispenser as taken along line V-V in FIGURE 3, the scale being somewhat larger than that of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of another embodimentof the dispenser illustrating a somewhat different form of indicia carried on the dispenser housing and having blades therein corresponding to that shown in FIGURE 2a;

FIGURES 7 and 8 are the same as FIGURE 6 except they show still other forms of blade-dispenser indicia arrangement for indicating the directions in which the blades are dispensed;

FIGURE 9 is a top plan view on enlarged scale of the blade retainer as it appears before being loaded with blades; and

FIGURE 10 is a side elevational view of FIGURE 9.

Throughout the specification like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts.

Referring in detail to the construction shown in FIG- URE 1, the dispenser comprises an elongated housing which includes an upper body portion In, a blade retainer 30 adapted to be carried in the housing, and a bottom plate 59 adapted to be removably connected to upper body portion 10.

Upper body portion It) is preferably made of plastic and includes a top 'wall If and integral sidewalls 12 and 13 depending downwardly from the longitudinal margins of the top Wall as shown. The sidewalls l2 and 13 are provided at each end with inwardly, transversely directed bosses 1 .4 which receive the tabs 51 formed at the ends of bottom plate Bil for'connecting the bottom plate to the upper body, the tabs being bent around or encircling the bosses as best seen in FIGURE 4. The inner surface of each sidewall I2, 13 is provided with a vertical recess or groove 15, the recesses being aligned with each other on the transverse axis of the housing. In addition, the underside of top Wall 11 is provided with longitudinally directed slots 16 located adjacent each sidewall, the slots 16 being of diminishing width from the ends towards the center as shown, but at no point being of less than sufficient Width to fully overlie the cutting edges of a stack of razor blades supported on blade retainer 30 as shown in FIG- URE 5. Top wall 11 is provided at its upper or outer surface with a centrally located finger opening 17 wherein a user may insert a finger to slide razor blades out of the housing in the manner to be described later on in the specification. The outer surface of .the upper body slopes downwardly a distance adjacent the finger opening as generally seen in FIGURES 3-8 with the slope at least at the longitudinal ends of the finger opening being that of a flat inclined plane 1'8 as best seen in FIGURE 4. The latter feature facilitates the users sliding his thumb in the finger opening 17 and applying the marking of directional indicia on the dispenser body in the manner described later on in the specification. Located adjacent opposite ends of finger opening 17 are a pair of guide studs in the form of ribs 19 formed integral with top wall 11 and extending downwardly a distance therefrom, the guide studs being located on the longitudinal axis of the housing and spaced inwardly only a short distance from the ends of the top wall. As seen in FIGURE 1, the guide studs are elongated members having lower faces which slope downwardly from the stud ends and intersect or form an apex generally at mid-length of the studs.

Bottom plate 59 is an elongated resilient member preferably made of metal although it may also be made of plastic and is generally coextensive in outline with the upper body portion 10. As seen in FIGURE 1, it is provided with a number of transversely directed widened access slots 52 for inserting used blades in space as which space constitutes a used blade compartment and which will be further described later on in the description. Between the tabs 51, the ends of plate 50 are rolled upwardly and inwardly to provide smooth edges as indicated at 53 in FIGURES 3 and 6 for example, the smooth edges constituting end closures for the used blade compartment.

Blade retainer 36 as seen in FIGURE 1 is a plate-like member and has a generally flat body 31 preferably made of plastic the sides of which taper slightly inwardly at the ends. The underside of the blade retainer is provided with a number of relatively narrow longitudinally directed stilfeners 32 and a number of transverse ribs 33 located symmetrically of the transverse axis of the retainer and extending across the full width of the retainer. The stilfeners 32 serve to guide used blades past the transverse ribs 33 when they are inserted in the used blade compartment and prevent any other interfering contact of the used blade with the underside of the blade retainer. The flat body 31 of the blade retainer is generally open at the center as shown and includes longitudinally extending tongues 34, 35 which carry, respectively, upstanding opposed blade locator tangs 36 and 37, the locator tangs being aligned on the longitudinal axis of the blade retainer and spaced symmetrically on either side of its transverse axis. The tangs 36 and 37 are in the form of opposed right and left hooks having their open ends facing each other, and, the facing ends being bent downwardly as best seen in FIGURE 4. Located adjacent each tang, are longitudinally directed slots 46, which receive the apices of the guide studs 19 when the dispenser is assembled. The blade retainer is also provided with vertically directed lugs 38 depending downwardly from its longitudinal margins at the ends of transverse ribs 33, the lugs being outset from upwardly tapering skirt portions 39 and 40 which merge with the margins of the blade retainer as shown. A more complete understanding of the dispenser of the present invention will appear from a description of the manner in which it is used.

It will be apparent that the razor blade dispenser of the present invention is intended to be loaded with razor blades and assembled on a mass production scale utilizing in general known packaging equipment and procedures. As a first step, a stack of razor blades (for example ten slotted double edge razor blades of a well-known type 70 shown in FIGURE 2) may be loaded on blade retainer 30, the blades being arranged in longitudinally staggered relation, that is longitudinally offset from adjacent blades in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 4. In the assembled condition the tangs or hooks 36, 3'7 engage around the transverse end bands 71 of the corresponding blades and the blades are releasably held by the flexible hooks. The pre-loaded blade retainer 30 is thereafter inserted in the upper body portion of the housing at its open bottom face, the lugs 38 on the blade retainer fitting into the complemental recesses in sidewalls 112 and 13 and maintaining the blade retainer positioned centrally within the housing with their longitudinal and transverse axes aligned in the same vertical planes. Thereafter the bottom plate 50 is connected to the upper body portion, the tabs 51 being bent around the bosses as shown in FIG- URE 4. With bottom plate 59 securely in place, its ends (particularly the smooth rolled edges 53) along with the ends of top wall 11 and the ends of sidewalls 12 and I3 define blade exit apertures 41, 42 at the ends of the housing (FIGURE 4). The blades supported on blade retainer 3t) overlap each other a certain distance as shown in FIGURE 3; thus, the inner or overlapping end of the uppermost blade 70 in the stack (shown in short dashed lines) is located approximately over the center of the next lower blade '72 (shown in longer dashed lines) while, on the other hand, the inner or overlapping end of blade 2 is located approximately under the center of blade 70. The other or outer ends of the blades are located adjacent the exit apertures 41, 42, being spaced inwardly a slight distance therefrom. The overlapping end of uppermost blade 7t) is supported under locator tang 37, one end of slot 73 (FIGURE 2) in the blade straddling the tang as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 with the end of the blade abutting on the abutment 44 formed by the merging of the tongue with the locator tang 37 as best seen in FIG URE 10. Conversely, the overlapping end of the next lower blade 72 in the stack is supported under the locator tang 36, one end of the slot in blade 72 straddling the tang, and its inner end abutting on the abutment (FIG- URE 10). The remaining blades in the stack are similarly supported under the locator tangs, alternate blades in the stack being supported under the same locator tangs with the hook portions of the tangs extending downwardly into the blade slots as shown in FIGURE 4. The guide studs 19 extend down into the other ends of the blade slots '73 as shown in FIGURE 4 so as to insure longitudinal guidance of the blades as they pass through the exit apertures when being dispensed.

When the user wishes to dispense a blade from the dispenser he inserts a finger, preferably the thumb, in finger opening 17 and applies a sliding force to the uppermost blade sliding it to the left as is seen in FIGURE 3, the moved position being shown in long and short dashed lines. The overlapping or inner end of blade 70 is thereby freed from locator tang 37 and passes out from under the tang. When the blade 79 is slid to the left, the overlapping end thereof rides up unobstructedly over the other locator tang 36 as the forward portion of the tang is bent downwardly as shown in FIGURE 4. As blade 70 is exiting through aperture 41, the guide stud 19 at the left side of the housing, and which extends down through the slot in the topmost blade and every other blade thereunder and into slot 45 in the blade retainer prevents the blade from being displaced transversely and thus obviates contact of the blade cutting edges with the housing sidewalls. By making the guide studs 19 as long as shown, maximum guidance may be maintained during dispensing. The next lower blade 72 may thereafter be dispensed in the same manner except it is slid to the right and exits through aperture 42. The remaining blades in the stack are then dispensed alternately through blade exit apertures 41, 42 respectively. It will be noted that the blades can be slid only in the proper directions for dispensing since, as best seen in FIGURE 4, the blades supported under locator tang 36 abut on the abutment 45 joining the tongue 34 and the tang 36 making it impossible to slide these blades to the left. Hence they must be slid to the right to be dispensed through aperture 42. Similarly, the blades supported under locator tang 37 abut on the abutment 44 between tongue 35 and tang 37 and thus cannot be slid to the right. It follows that they must be slid to the left to be dispensed through aperture 41.

As shown in FIGURES 4, 9, and 10 the ends of the blade retainer 39 are provided with upstanding wedgelike cam projections 47 spaced apart a distance somewhat more than the width of the end transverse band portions 71 of the blades but less than the maximum width of the blades. The cam projections are carried on flexible arms 48 which are integral with the blade retainer and deflect downwardly slightly when the blade retainer is fully loaded with blades and housed within the upper body as shown in FIGURE 4. The projections 47 engage the bottom blade and force the blade stack upwardly within the dispenser housing so that the ends of all the blades are generally aligned or in register with the exit apertures. However, as seen in FIGURE 4, the uppermost blade '70 in the stack is not pressed against the underside of top wall 11 and is actually held out of contact therewith by reason that the terminal portion of slot 73 in the blade engages the sloping surface of the guide stud 19 at the left side of the dispenser. On the other hand, as the blades are being dispensed, and in particular after being released from the locator tangs, they will contact a portion of the underside of top wall 11 being forced in contact therewith by reason of riding up the projections 47 but since the top wall is provided with longitudinal slots 16 as described above, the slots insure that the cutting edge portions of the blades do not contact the top wall and become damaged (see FIGURES 3 and As seen in FIGURE 1, the underside of the top wall is slotted or stepped back as at 20 to prevent the blades, as they are dispensed through the blade exit aperture, from hanging up on any flash which may be present at the edge of the top wall. Flash as used herein denotes undesirable residue at meeting surfaces such as sometimes results in the molding of plastic objects.

As seen in FIGURE 4, the lugs 33 on blade retainer 39 rest against the bottom plate 50, spacing the main body of the blade retainer a distance above the bottom plate. Thus a space is formed in the housing and constitutes a used blade compartment wherein the user may insert used razor blades, access to the compartment being by means of the slots 52 in the bottom plate. The slots 52 are generally spaced apart a distance less than the length of a used blade, and a portion of the periphery of the slot is bent downwardly or outwardly of the dispenser as at 54 so as to form a retainer lip to prevent used blades from accidentally sliding out or" the compartment.

Means are incorporated to aid the user in dispensing blades and in particular to apprise him of the direction in which the razor blades should be slid, sand to this end, the dispenser and razor blades are provided with an indicia combination one form of which is shown in FIG- URES 2 and 3. As seen in FIGURE 2, the upper surface of each razor blade is provided with markings in the form of parallel lines or marker bands '74-, '74 which are directed longitudinally of the blades, and are symmetrically arranged one on either side of the blade longitudinal axis and equispaced at the ends from the blade transverse axis. The lines 74, 74 are preferably printed on the blades and the reverse sides of the blades are in each case provided with like markings. The markings may also be provided in the form of a line of perforations, etchings, elongated slotted recesses or other suitable markings. For example, the markings on the blade 110 shown in FIGURE 2b comprise a pair of longitudinal slots ill and 112, while those on blade 115 shown in FIGURE 20 comprise lines 116, 117 each comprised of perforations in the blade material. As seen in FIGURE 3, the outer surface of the dispenser top Wall is provided with directional indicia in the form of arrowheads 8d, 8d or V-shaped indicators located adjacent each end of the finger opening and pointed toward the near blade exit apertures 41, 42, respectively. The directional indicia 89, 89 may be painted on the housing, or they may be of the decalcomania type, raised surface, slotted recess or other suitable indicia means suited to the intended purpose. The fact that the housing adjacent the thumb opening has a fiat inclined surface 18 as previously described facilitates applying the directional indicia, particularly, when the indicia are printed on the housing. The arrowheads or legs of the V intersect on the longitudinal axis of the housing as. shown and cooperate with lines or marker bands 74, 74 to indicate the directions the user slides the blades to dispense them. Since the blades are staggered on the blade retainer as described above, the centers thereof are located to one side or the other of the center of the dispenser housing. Thus, as seen in FEGURE 3, the line markings 74, 74' on uppermost blade 7d are visible from the left end of finger opening 17 and extend only a limited distance in the direction of the other or right end of the finger opening. The lines thus appear to the user as the tail section of an arrow, the arrowhead being constituted by the directional indicia 89. It is apparent that this in- 5 dicia-markings combination indicates that the uppermost blade 74? must he slid to the left to be dispensed through aperture 41.

On the other hand, the lines 74, 74 on the next underlying blade 72 are located to the right of the transverse axis of the housing and after blade 79 has been dispensed will appear to the viewer as extending from the right end of the finger opening 17 a distance only in the direction of the left end of the finger opening, the lines on blade 72 being shown in dashed lines in FIGURE 3. It is seen then that the lines '74, 74- on blade 72 will appear as the tail of an arrow (the directional indicia 8% constituting the arrowhead) pointed towards blade exit aperture 42 denoting that the blade must be slid to the right to be dispensed. An important advantage of this indicia arrangement is that the lines 7 2, 74' on the blades are bidirectional and symmetrical for facilitating and simplifying loading the dispenser, but in the dispenser register only with the arrowhead indicia directed toward the particular end of the dispenser through which the blade is in tended to be dispensed.

it will be understood that within the principles illustrated in the arrangement of FEGURES 2 and 3 considerable variation in the specific form of the direction indicating means can be employed. For example the lines or markings 7d, 7d and the arrows 3d, 80 can be varied as to size and shape, and to considerable advantage they may be made in selected colors contrasting with the colors of the blade and the housing.

An arrangement of indicator indicia is shown in FIG- URE 6 which is a modification of that shown in FIG- URE 3. In this modified form the blade markings \correspond to those shown on blade ad in FIGURE 2a comprising a design having the general shape of a rectangle. The arrows 9-2 and 92' on the casing are differently shaped from the arrows, St 30' of FIGURE 3 and have legs merging with the longitudinal sides Q3, 93' respectively of :the rectangular design. The cross band 94 of the rectangle which on the uppermost blade in the stack is located adjacent the arrow on the housing is not seen as it is covered by the edge of finger opening 17 as indicated in FIGURE 6 while the cross band 94' is visible and forms the tail of the arrow. It will be apparent that the blade markings and casing indicia may employ a contrasting color arrangement for denoting the directions in which the blades are slid for dispensing. For example, the arrows 92, 92' may be respectively colored red and blue, while the markings on the uppermost blade 94 may be colored red and those on the next underlying blade 95 colored blue, the blades thereafter having alternately red and blue markings. It follows that red rectangular blade markings and red arrow would indicate that the blade is slid left to be dispensed while blades with the rectangular markings would match with blue arrow 92 to indicate dispensing is to the right. The foregoing color arrangement is also applicable to the blade li-ne marking-directional indicia arrangement shown in FIGURE 3.

Still another arrangement of direction indicating means is shown in FIGURE 7. Here each blade is provided with only a single line or band 1% located to one side of the blade longitudinal axis but symmetrical with respect to the blade transverse axis. Thus the line 1% on the uppermost blade lidll extends a distance only from the left end of the fin er opening in the direction of the other end. The top Wall of the housing is provided at the left end of the finger opening to one side of the casing longitudinal axis with a V-shaped indicator 102 which constitutes the head of a directional arrow indicating that blade M1 is dispensed by sliding it to the left through blade exit aperture 41. The V-shaped arrowhead tea is shown as a notch extending outwardly from the finger opening 17 but of course it could comprise, f=o-r example, a colored marking on the housing adjacent opening 17. The next underlying blade 103 also has a line 100 thereon (shown in dashed lines) but it is located on the other side of the longitudinal axis of the casing so that it will cooperate with the V-shaped indicator 104 at the right end of the finger opening 17 to indicate that the next lower blade is slid to the right to be dispensed, the indicator 104 being located in a diametrically opposed location relative to indicator 102. The marker lines 100 and 100' are located in the same position on each blade but it will be seen that in this case alternate blades in the stack must be turned 180 degrees when being loaded in the dispenser to insure that the line will register with the appropriate arrowhead. The latter may be avoided of course by using blades bearing marking lines such as shown in FIGURE 2. In that case, only the lowermost line will register with the arrowhead to denote the direction the blade is slid, so that the upper line serves no punpose. On the other hand, the upper line on the next lower blade would register with notch 104 to denote that blade must be slid to the right, while the lower line in this blade has no function. It is apparent, however, that the use of line markings on the blade as shown in FIGURE 2 offers the advantage that it makes it unnecessary to orient alternate blades in the stack when employing directional indicia on the housing as shown in FIGURE 7.

The direction indicating means illustrated in FIGURE 8 is similar to that shown in FIGURE 7 except that instead of utilizing arrowhead notches in the housing, the upper surface of the housing is [provided at each side of finger opening 17 with a large colored area. Thus for example, the red colored indicator 120 at the left side of the housing cooperates with a colored marking or red line 121 on wppermost blade 122 to indicate that the latter is slid to the left to be dispensed. On the other hand, the blue colored indicator 123 at the right side of the housing cooperates with a like colored marking or line 124 on the next lower blade 125 to indicate it is slid to the right when being dispensed. The blades 122 and 125 may also contain other colored characters or markings 126, 127 respectively. These markings, shown by Way of example as the letters XY may be representations of a particular trademark or tradename. Obviously, their color scheme is the same as that of the lines 121, 124 so that the lettering 126 is red and the lettering 127 is blue and they thus also cooperate with the colored indicators on the housing to denote the directions the blades are dispensed. By using markings such as 126, 127 it is possible to eliminate use of the lines 121, 124. The colored spaces or indicators 121, 123 may be printed on the housing or they may be a special coloration in the housing material itself.

While there are above disclosed different embodiments of the dispenser of the present invention, it is possible to produce still other embodiments without departing from the scope of the inventive concept herein disclosed, and accordingly it should be understood that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. In a blade dispenser, an elongated blade retainer for holding a stack of blades of the type having a longitudinal slot and transverse end bands said retainer comprising a base part with a pair of opposed right and left flexible hook portions with facing open ends, the blades being arranged on the retainer in alternately longitudinally offset relation with overlapping inner ends, a first set of the blades extending toward one end of the retainer having their transverse bands at the inner end engaged under the right hook portion, and the alternate blades extending toward the other end of the retainer comprising a second set having their transverse bands at the inner end engaged under the left hook portion, said hook portions having their opposed ends sloping downwardly toward each other.

2. A blade dispenser and blade retainer in accordance with claim 1 in which the said opposed ends of the hook portions extend downwardly into the blade slots to an extent at least below the plane of the topmost blade.

3. In a blade dispenser, an elongated blade retainer for holding a stack of blades of the type having a longitudinal slot and transverse end bands said retainer comprising a base part with a pair of opposed right and left flexible hook portions with facing open ends, the blades being arranged on the retainer in alternately longitudinally offset relation with overlapping inner ends, a first set of the blades extending toward one end of the retainer arranged with the left hook portion extending into the said blade slots and having their transverse bands at the inner end engaged under the right hook portion, and the alternate blades extending toward the other end of the retainer comprising a second set arranged with the right hook portion extending into the said blade slots and having their transverse bands at the inner end engaged under the left hook portion, said hook portions having their top surfaces sloping downwardly toward each other to permit free sliding thereover of the transverse bands of the blades at their respective inner ends.

4. A blade dispenser for holding a stack of blades of the type having a longitudinal slot and transverse end bands said dispenser embodying an elongated housing, with a blade exit aperture at each end, and a blade retainer in the housing said retainer having a pair of opposed right and left flexible hook portions with facing open ends, the blades being arranged on the retainer in alternately longitudinally offset relation with overlapping inner ends, a first set of the blades extending toward one end of the housing having their transverse bands at the inner end engaged under the right hook portion and releasably held thereby, and the alternate blades extending toward the other end of the housing comprising a second set having their transverse bands at the inner end engaged under the left hook portion and releasably held thereby, said blades being adapted to be dispensed alternately each by sliding it away from the hook engaging its inner band out the aperture at the opposite end of the housing.

5. In a blade dispenser embodying an elongated housing with a blade exit aperture at each end and an upper wall provided with a central opening therein, blade retainer means within said housing for supporting a stack of blades in longitudinally offset relation with overlapping inner ends, the retainer means being arranged to enable the successive blades to be dispensed alternately at the opposite exit apertures, and indicator means adapted to indicate the appropriate direction of dispensing the respective blades comprising a marking in the surface of each blade adapted to be exposed at said central opening, and a direction indicator on said housing upper wall at each side of said central opening and associated with the corresponding end of the housing, the said blade marking on the respective blades cooperating with the direction indicators to indicate the directions in which the blades are dispensed.

6. A blade dispenser and blades therefor in accordance with claim 5 in which the markings in the blades are located midway longitudinally of the blade and symmetrically with respect to the blade ends.

7. A blade dispenser and blades therefor in accordance with claim 5 in which the markings in the blades are symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal and transverse axes thereof and each blade may be positioned selectively in proper relation in the dispenser to register appropriately with either direction indicator for dispensing in the corresponding selected direction.

8. A blade dispenser and blades therefor in accordance with claim 5 in which the markings in the blades are symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal and transverse axes thereof and are similarly applied to both sides of the blade whereby each blade may be positioned selectively with either side toward said opening and in proper relation in the dispenser to register appropriately with either direction indicator for dispensing in the corresponding selected direction.

9. A blade dispenser and blades therefor in accordance with claim in which the said markings in the blades comprise one or more lines extending longitudinally of the blade, and said direction indicator comprising a line with which the one or more lines register.

10. A blade dispenser and blades therefor in accordance with claim 5 in which the markings in the blades comprise a pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending lines in a color contrasting to the general area of the blade and said direction indicator comprises in each an arrowhead with which said lines on the blade register.

ill. A blade dispenser and blades therefor in accordance with claim 5 in which the markings in the blades comprise one or more slots extending longitudinally of the blade.

12. A blade dispenser and blades therefor in accordance with claim 5 in which the markings on the blades are colored characters, the markings on successive blades being different colors, the color of the markings on alternate blades being the same, the appropriate direction indicators being colored the same color as the blade markings of the blades intended to be dispensed in the direction indicators.

13. A blade dispenser and blades therefor in accordance with claim 5 in which the marking on the blade comprises a colored line extending longitudinally of the blade and said direction indicator comprises in each case a V-shaped notch in the said upper wall extending outwardly from said central opening and pointing toward the respective housing end, said colored line on the blade extending under and being exposed at said notch.

14. A blade dispenser and blades therefor in accordance with claim 5 in which said central opening comprises .a finger opening adapted to receive a finger of the user for frictionally engaging the uppermost blade to slide it toward the appropriate exit aperture.

15. A blade dispenser and blades therefor in accordance with claim 14 wherein the outer surface of said upper wall adjacent said finger opening slopes downwardly in the direction of the longitudinal ends of said finger opening, said slope being that of a flat inclined plane.

16. A blade dispenser and blades therefor in accordance with claim 5 in which the marking on each blade comprises one or more lines of perforations in the blade and extending longitudinally thereof.

17. A blade dispenser and blades therefor in accordance with claim 16 in which the appropriate direction indicators comprise colored segments in said housing upper wall at each side of said central opening.

18. In a blade dispenser embodying an elongated housing with a blade exit aperture at each end and an upper wall provided with a central opening therein, blade retainer means within said housing for supporting a stack of blades in longitudinally offset relation with overlapping inner ends, the retainer means being arranged to enable the successive blades to be dispensed alternately at the opposite exit apertures, and indicator means adapted to indicate the appropriate direction of dispensing the respective blades comprising a marking in the surface of each blade adapted to be exposed at said central opening, and a direction indicator associated with said housing upper wall at each side of said central opening pointing respectively to the corresponding end of the housing, the said blade marking on the respective blades being arranged by the offset relation of the blades to register in each case with the appropriate direction indicator.

19. In a razor blade dispenser including an elongated housing having blade exit apertures at each end, blade retainer means for supporting a stack of blades in longitudinal staggered relation Within said housing, said housing having a central finger opening therein to enable a user to slidably dispense succeeding blades from the stack through alternate end apertures, the combination of each blade in the stack having at least one longitudinally directed line marking thereon, the line marking being arranged symmetrically on each side of the transverse axis of the blade so that at least a portion of it is visible in said finger opening and extends from one end of said opening a distance only in the direction of the other end, directional indicia means carried by said housing at opposite ends of said finger opening, said line marking on said blades cooperating with said directional indicia to denote the direction in which the blade is slid to be dispensed.

20. In a razor blade dispenser including an elongated housing having blade exit apertures at each end, blade retainer means for supporting a stack of blades in longitudinally staggered relation within said housing, said housing having a central finger opening therein to enable a user to slidably dispense succeeding blades from the stack through alternate end apertures, the combination of each blade in the stack having a pair of longitudinally directed line markings thereon, the markings being arranged symmetrically on each side of the longitudinal and transverse axes of the blade so that at least portions thereof are visible in said finger opening and extend from one end of said opening a distance only in the direction of the other end, directional indicia carried by said housing adjacent each end of said finger opening, said line markings on said blades cooperating with said directional indicia to denote the direction in which the blade is slid to be dispensed.

21. The combination of claim 20 wherein said directional indicia are V-shaped, the legs of said V intersecting on the longitudinal axis of said housing and being directed toward the near end of the housing.

22. A razor blade dispenser for longitudinally slotted razor blades comprising an elongated main housing having a top wall and a blade exit aperture at each end, a blade retainer mounted in said housing having a pair of opposed tangs for supporting a stack of the blades in longitudinally offset relation, a pair of spaced cam members at each end of said retainer over which the respective blade is adapted to slide in its exit and arranged to engage the blade inside its cutting edges, said cam members being carried on flexible arms formed in the blade retainer and a guide rib extending downwardly from said top wall adjacent each exit aperture and adapted to engage in the blade slot.

23. A razor blade dispenser in accordance with claim 22 in which the under surface of the top wall of the housing has a pair of transversely spaced longitudinally extending grooves arranged to overlie the blade edges and prevent said edges contacting the top wall.

24. A blade dispenser for holding and individually dispensing a stack of blades of the type having a longitudinal slot and transverse end bands, said dispenser embodying an elongated housing having a top wall and a blade exit aperture at each end; and a blade retainer in the housing said retainer having a pair of opposed right and left flexible hook portions with facing open ends, the blades being arranged on the retainer in alternately longitudinally offset relation with overlapping inner ends, a first set of the blades extending toward one end of the housing having their transverse bands at the inner end engaged under the right hook portion and releasably held thereby and the alternate blades extending toward the other end of the housing comprising a second set having their transverse bands at the inner end engaged under the left hook portion and releasably held thereby, a pair of transversely spaced cam members on each end of said retainer projecting upwardly; and a guide rib extending downwardly from said top wall adjacent each exit aperture; said blades being adapted to be dispensed alternately each by sliding it away from the hook engaging its inner band out the aperture at the opposite end of the housing, the blade sliding over the corresponding pair of cam members, with the corresponding guide rib extending into the blade slot, the cam members each being carried on flexible arms formed in the blade retainer, the arms yielding downwardly as the blades are slid over said cam members.

984,785 2/1911 Towne 221-271 X 1 2 2,544,410 3/1951 Young 221-67 X 2,617,520 11/1952 Benedict et a1. 20616 2,863,586 12/1958 Testi 206l6 FOREIGN PATENTS 167,662 2/1951 Austria. 288,234 5/ 1953 Switzerland.

0 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

I. M. CASKIE, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No 3,265,198 August 9, 1966 Paul Am Braginetz et a1 It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

line 54, for "the" read blue column 9,

Column 6,

"in the" insert directions of said o line 25, after Signed and sealed this 22nd day of August 19670 (SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER Attesting Officer EDWARD J. BRENNER Commissioner of Patents 

5. IN A BLADE DISPENSER EMBODYING AN ELONGATED HOUSING WITH A BLADE EXIT APERTURE AT EACH END AND AN UPPER WALL PROVIDED WITH A CENTRAL OPENING THEREIN, BLADE RETAINER MEANS WITHIN SAID HOUSING FOR SUPPORTING A STACK OF BLADES IN LONGITUDINALLY OFFSET RELATION WITH OVERLAPPING INNER ENDS, THE RETAINER MEANS BEING ARRANGED TO ENABLE THE SUCCESSIVE BLADES TO BE DISPENSED ALTERNATELY AT THE OPPOSITE EXIT APERTURES, AND INDICATOR MEANS ADAPTED TO INDICATE THE APPROPRIATE DIRECTION OF DISPENSING THE RESPECTIVE BLADES COMPRISING A MARKING IN THE SURFACE OF EACH BLADES COMPRISING A MARKING IN THE TRAL OPENING, AND A DIRECTION INDICATOR ON SAID HOUSING UPPER WALL AT EACH SIDE OF SAID CENTRAL OPENING AND ASSOCIATED WITH THE CORRESPONDING END OF THE HOUSING, THE SAID BLADE MARKING ON THE RESPECTIVE BLADES COOPERATING WITH THE DIRECTION INDICATORS TO INDICATE THE DIRECTIONS IN WHICH THE BLADES ARE DISPENSED. 